Amelia
by HungryInTheDarkForNachosLOL
Summary: Amelia was many things: Archery Champion, Big Sister... But now she's deaf, trapped in the FAYZ and Day Care worker on the unfortunate day of Sam's 15th Birthday. Rated T in case & for language/ maybe violence.
1. The Nightmare

**Disclaimer: Don't own GONE and stuff or any of the other stuff mentioned, but I did make Amelia- pls don't copy her. Duh. Anyway...**

Amelia

Her short hazel hair blew in the breeze as she stared at the target; she pulled back the string on her bow- smiling at her mum on the side lines. She let go and the arrow hit the yellow bull's-eye.

She smiled widely as the official put the gold medal over her head, a camera flashed- freezing her achievement on paper.

Her mum was clapping, cheering without sound. They talked happily as they drove back to Perdido Beach, then they got home and Amelia put her Archery equipment and trophies away upstairs.

She leapt down the stairs, into the living room. Morning light was coming through them, which was strange as she had won the contest at lunch time. Her mum was talking silently at her; it was like the world was on mute.

She went into the kitchen, sticking the sheet of paper from the Audiologist on the fridge with a magnet. The sun was going down, and she was going deaf.

Slowly she walked into the living room; she had a cold and was having a sick day. Her baby brother was crying soundlessly in the corner, her mother yelling at her father again.

'Please stop fighting!' Amelia spoke, it sounded muffled even though it was coming from her mouth. Her father had lost his job again; he turned on her- shouting mutely.

Then they were gone. Disappeared. Vanished. There then gone, she couldn't be going mad as well as deaf could she?

Amelia's eyes flew open. It was the nightmare again. She reached for her clock, to feel its silent ticking. Time to get up and help at Day Care, she had dumped her brother there long ago, when the FAYZ started. She couldn't handle him and herself.


	2. Fridge Magnet Fate

Fridge Magnet Fate

Amelia clambered out of bed, pulling on her clothes. She choose a grey shirt over her faded jeans and scrappy trainers. Her family had always been poor- living off hardly anything. She slowly stepped down the stairs; each and every one creaked, into the kitchen.

The lettered magnets on the fridge still held up the sheet of paper that recoded her fate, next to the photos of her archery championship win. Amelia pulled a photo down, the one that she saw being taken every night in her dreams. That was the last time Amelia remembered being truly happy.

Her smiling freckled face under her choppy hazel hair, her grey - pale blue sky eyes alight with joy. Amelia sighed, hearing it aloud- her hearing shifted; sometimes she could hear fine, others she couldn't hear someone shouting in her face. Right now her hearing was about a 9- she had a scale, 0 being completely deaf.

She put bread into the ancient toaster, I'm being serious- this toaster has been around since before the dawn of mankind- aliens forgot to take it with them back home to mars, then she went to grab her coat and bag off her piano in the living room.

Amelia loved her piano- she had taught herself how to play. Her uncle had left it to her when he died years ago; no-one in the family had got around to selling it. She wrote her own songs as well as playing her favourite song over and over

She wondered why her toast wasn't done yet, she should have heard the toaster pop. Oh crap… She opened the piano lid, and pressed the highest note- to the sound of nothing. Nothing at all- not even a muffled sound.

Her condition was getting worse, she had done the tests every day- even when the FAYZ started and the records showed that the times she could hear were getting shorter and less frequent.

Tears fell from her eyes; the ear surgery her family could only just afford had been scheduled for today- the date was printed on the sheet on the fridge. She had been suppressing it for days- hoping the FAYZ would end and her hearing would be saved, if she didn't have the surgery she would be permanently death.

She grabbed the toast and rubbed the tears away as she ran to Day Care for her shift.


	3. Eddie

Eddie

Amelia arrived on time as usual. Something was going to happen today, it was on the tip off her tongue… There were kids with guns outside Day Care- it was Sam's birthday- now she remembered. Today the boy from Coates… Umm… Caine? He was coming down to fight Sam.

She wondered about the poof, she had seen kids disappear- it was weird, they went all blurry and then they were just gone. She turned 15- what was the date today again? 15 in 36 days. Too late for her ear surgery- if that was what the poof was, a way out of the FAYZ…

Amelia came out of her daydream; one of two boys with guns was talking to her. Not that she could hear. Umm… 'I can't hear you- I'm going deaf…' she wasn't sure it came out aloud, but he seemed to hear it- he nodded.

Amelia remembered her ingenious idea and got the notebook out of her bag. "I'm Amelia, what's your name? (:" he read it and took the pad, writing.

"Quinn, do you need help- do you want me to get Dahra?" wow, he had bad handwriting. "I'm fine. It comes and goes" she wasn't going to tell him her life story.

"When are we expecting the war?" Quinn laughed at that, and then shrugged. Amelia waved and went inside.

Mary and her brother knew about Amelia's deafness- they had worked out hand signals for things like "baby needs changing" and "over here" and "I need some help" and "busy right now". Today she came in, walked over to Mary and cupped a hand to her ear while shaking her head "can't hear"- Amelia tried not to speak aloud for fear off misjudging and yelling, waking and upsetting the kids.

Mary nodded and directed her to help Manuela; the girl was handing out breakfast and feeding the toddlers- one of them spat food down her blouse. Amelia handed her a tissue and the girl thanked her- before asking if she could hear today.

Manuela was a good worker, but she got impatient with the prees. Amelia waved instead of talking and she got the message. She took the baby food off the frazzled girl and helped John fed the rest of the kids.

Amelia spotted her baby brother in the corner and ran over to wipe the mush off his face. 'Hello Eddie' she whispered, not even sure it came out, but he seemed to smile. She ruffled his curly hazel hair, his gunmetal eyes brightened at the sight of her.

Mary was making herself a coffee; she didn't know that Amelia knew about her little problem. Everyday Mother Mary was popping pills, when she came to Day Care she was drugged up- the coffee was to counteract the dizzying effects of whatever she was on today. She wasn't one to judge, Mary probably had something going wrong drastically behind the scenes.

The girl stepped out with the safety cup, stirring sugar- she looked towards the door. Amelia hadn't heard it open but Quinn was walking in. God- the prees don't really need to see the machine gun.

Amelia knew how to shot a gun; her granddad had owned a firing range- every time she went there on a cheap holiday he would teach her. She had always wanted to work in the police force, kicking down doors and catching murderers- like they did on TV. Then she found her skills lied in archery and stopped shooting with a pistol._ My granddad was seriously misinformed __on the subject of teaching a six year old to shoot at targets, but let's forget that._


	4. Coming Back

Coming Back

Quinn left; he went upstairs, 'Call me if you need anything Mary.' _Wait- did I hear that? YAY, I should voice this aloud,_ 'Yay!' Amelia jumped around the room. Mary looked up, 'What?' angrily; Amelia had woken her from her five minute nap.

'Sorry Mary!' Amelia got back to diaper duties.

After that Amelia made Mary a coffee while the other staff fed the children, it was tea time. Amelia had a sandwich, Mary refused to eat, which was weird. She would eat later or something, hopefully. The end of the day was coming.

Manuela got marker pen on her shirt. It was circle time; Mary was reading books to the prees. John was on diapers with "the tinies". Amelia was playing with the kids in the corner, helping them paint and stack blocks into forts for their dress up game.

Amelia could hear Manuela muttering swears under her breath as she scrubbed her blouse, the back door opened- probably Quinn coming back. Then the screams came.

Amelia heard them at first, but then her hearing faded away. She was deaf again. Slowly she looked over her shoulder; coyotes were flooding in with a blonde evil looking teenager. WTF? Why the hell did that boy have a whip for an arm?

Amelia got to her feet; the foam wall she had been holding up fell to pieces. Prees started running around crazily, coyotes jumping them. She grabbed an umbrella out of the dress up box and snapped it in half against a coyote's head. It rolled, hopefully dead, off the child- who fled to the over end of Day Care.

Something slashed Amelia in the back of the knee, it burned. 'Fuck!' how loud did I shout that? She crumpled to the ground, touching her leg. A thin line bleeding, the boy had obviously… Whipped her? Whatever. Mary was charging about, punching a coyote that was on top of Isabella, John had a coyote at his throat and Manuela was frozen with fear. Jackson got bitten on his ankle. The animals seemed to calm and the blonde boy stepped into the room- Mary started yelling at him.

The whip handed boy slashed her cheek. The room sounded like it was under water- at least sound was coming back a bit.

'…Won't like … Always said…' Sound blurred in and out as Mary yelled at the boy. Silence fell as the blonde choked Mary with his- umm- arm. 'Bastard' Amelia whispered, crap- or she thought she whispered… He dropped Mary and glared at her. Shit.

He stalked towards her, idiot- why did you say that? His whip curled around the front of her collar, yanking her to her feet. The boy yelled mutely in her face, she couldn't understand a word.

The blonde shook her angrily, still yelling- he looked over at Mary. She was yelling something at him, suddenly someone turned off mute on the world and she was flooded with sound.

Coyotes were growling at the bawling toddlers, Mary was yelling, '-she really is deaf, Drake, you idiot!'

'You deaf bitch?' he tightened his hold, shouting right in her face. Amelia decided to be deaf.

He let go and just glared at her. Mary yelled at him, 'What do you want? Drake you have to get these coyotes out of here. You can have me as hostage.' Drake glanced at Amelia as if he would like to hold her hostage and torcher the life out of her, _gulp._

'-But the children don't know what is happening and they are scared.' Drake laughed, looking up to the mangy old coyote, 'hey, Pack Leader you guys won't eat the kids, will you?'

Why was he talking to a dog? 'Pack Leader agreed. No kill. No eat.' _Bloody hell, did that coyote just talk? I'm going mad._

'Until…' Drake prompted the coyote. 'Until Whip Hand say.' _Somebody pinch me…_

'Whip Hand.' Drake beamed 'That's their affectionate name for me.' Amelia got to her feet, leaning on a painting easel. The kids were shepherded into the corner.


	5. Bottled Emotions

Bottled Emotions

Mary put _The Little Mermaid_ in the DVD player. Drake's arm-thing-whatever was slivering closer to Amelia as she stood at the back of the group of children, she looked over her shoulder to see him glaring at her- probably plotting revenge. Whatever happened she wasn't going to give it away that one of these prees was her brother. The blonde would pick on Eddie if that happened.

The kids weren't watching the film that much, they had seen it a thousand times before- and there were dozens of coyotes and a boy with a gruesome whip arm for them to be afraid of as a distraction. Once it ended Amelia turned it off and John read the littlies a few books- they didn't work either.

'What do you want now kiddies?' Mary said in the happiest voice she could muster, she scanned the prees, they were scared. 'Ami should play the piano!' _Amelia- how many times- stop that there only k__ids. Wait, deaf girls can't play the piano._

Mary looked at me, sealing it with the kids: 'Amelia please?' 'Play Ami, play!' 'Ami!' Gulp. Drake glared-_ was that the only face he had? _'I thought you were deaf' his whip-thingy cracked behind her.

Amelia turned to face him, 'I'm going deaf, sometimes I hear fine; others not so much.' He sneered, 'play then Ami.'

She walked over to the piano in the corner as Manuela pulled the DVD screen and player to one side. She lifted the lid and the children congregated around the piano.

Amelia didn't know a song for the occasion where a blonde whip handed boy holds you hostage with coyotes that can talk. Paramore was always good; she could play the long and soft one. She ran her fingers along the keys- hearing every note clear, to her delight.

Quietly, she began to play 'Careful', fading it in. She played loudly as the opening verse started, she knew the words but didn't want to sing. Amelia played a complicated sequence of riffs as the first chorus came to an end, getting louder and quicker.

_Why did that stupid sadistic blonde bastard have to pick on the prees?_ They did nothing wrong and suddenly they had to be scared out of their wits. At least she could hear- for now, the ear surgery had been scheduled for today.

She was going to be permanently deaf now- nothing she could do about it. Her fingers pressed the keys fluently as she rushed emotionally, the riffs going on and on. A tear fell down her cheek as she pushed her bottled feelings into the song.

Her fingers flew across the keys before she slowed and faded out. She wiped the tears away, the room was silent. No child crying, no coyotes shuffling, no whip hand cracking ominously. That was when a girl appeared in the middle of the room.


End file.
